RASC News Agency: Tim Burchett, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, has sharply criticized the ongoing weekly shipments of $40 million in foreign aid to Afghanistan, arguing that much of this assistance ultimately benefits the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. Burchett is actively championing the passage of the bill titled “No Access for Terrorists to U.S. Taxpayer Funds.” In a press briefing on Tuesday, Burchett stated that $40 million of U.S. taxpayer money is delivered weekly to the Taliban via private jets. The representative from Tennessee emphasized that these funds, once exchanged for kabuli rupees, are essentially sold to the Taliban, who then distribute the money to non-governmental organizations (NGOs), which are required to pay taxes on the funds.
Burchett explained, “Every time NGOs spend these funds, the Taliban take a portion. When the money is converted into Kabuli rupees, the Taliban also seize a share. They control who can access foreign aid, and more often than not, the recipients are either Taliban or Al-Qaeda operatives.” Burchett, a member of both the Oversight and Foreign Affairs Committees, referred to the Taliban as an “avowed enemy” and accused them of treating women “like animals.” The bill, “No Access for Terrorists to U.S. Taxpayer Funds,” was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on June 5 of this year, following Burchett’s advocacy. On Monday of this week, it was introduced to the U.S. Senate by Senator Tim Sheehy, a veteran of the Afghanistan War.
Should the bill pass in the Senate, President Trump is expected to sign it into law. The bill mandates that the U.S. government take steps to prevent the Taliban from accessing U.S. foreign aid. It further requires the U.S. Department of State to report on which countries, in addition to the U.S., have provided aid to Afghanistan under the Taliban’s control since 2021. The bill also compels the Department of State to encourage other countries to ensure that their aid does not end up in the hands of the Taliban. Over the past three years, the U.S. has sent more than $3 billion in aid to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
Critics, particularly among the Republican Party, contend that a significant portion of this foreign aid is being diverted directly to the Taliban, whom they regard as an anti-American terrorist group. Earlier this year, the U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) revealed that U.S. aid organizations had inadvertently paid over $10 million in taxes to the Taliban.
